Leisure World Is Busy With Politics : Activism: The two major parties constantly mine the retirement community for votes and money. The affluent community has plenty of both.

When Ronald Reagan campaigned in Orange County for reelection in 1984, he sent buses to Leisure World in Laguna Hills so his faithful supporters there could be sure to attend.

And when Leisure World celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 1988, then-Senate candidate Pete Wilson led the community’s parade.

If it were a city, Leisure World would be one of Orange County’s smallest. But in terms of political clout, it is one of the state’s most concentrated pockets of activism.

Friday, four of the seven statewide Republican candidates attended a rally in Clubhouse 3, which was decked out with campaign placards, red-white-and-blue balloons and packed with more than 400 senior citizens by 10 a.m. Under the stage, Don Dressen’s Leisure World Dixieland Band sounded a chord to announce each candidate.

“I think you find the most dedicated Republican activists in the state here,” said State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) who represents part of Leisure World and is now running for lieutenant governor. “They have been the backbone of the Republican Party in Orange County.”

Wilson was scheduled to attend Friday’s rally, but he returned to Washington this week for a vote on the federal budget. The others attending were attorney general candidate Dan Lungren; Joan Milke Flores, running for secretary of state, and Matt Fong, candidate for state controller.

Forget that the average age here is about 73. Last week, the Leisure World Democratic Club meeting seemed like a high school pep rally when another audience of about 400 turned out and cheered for 85-year-old former California Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Sr. and attorney general candidate Arlo Smith.

There were more people at that gathering alone than at the county Democratic Party’s recent convention in Anaheim where gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein gave the keynote speech.

After Brown’s speech, a Democratic organizer asked the audience for $100 donations, and seven people stood up to respond. Then, for the next 10 minutes, nearly 40 people took turns pledging $50 and $25 donations.

At a time when voter apathy is crippling the election process, Leisure World is an island of participation. On average, its voter turnout is about 64%, far higher even than the rest of Orange County’s loyal electorate.

In the 1986 race for governor, Leisure World produced 69% of its voters compared to 53% countywide. And in the primary last June, turnout in Leisure World was 54%--almost 13 points higher than the rest of Orange County.

Like Orange County, Leisure World is decidedly Republican and affluent. There are just more than 5,000 Democrats and about twice as many in the GOP.

Certainly a large part of the political activity at Leisure World stems from the free time that retired residents have to devote to their interests.

Elsewhere, campaign events are scheduled for lunch breaks, evenings or weekends. There is hardly any place in the state to find a crowd of 400 people on a Friday morning, like there was at Leisure World.

For many residents, political loyalties were also forged in some of the country’s most traumatic periods, such as World War II or the Depression.

After speaking last week, Brown took questions from the audience, including one from a man who said: “I think Democrats have given up on the principles of President (Franklin) Roosevelt. Why has there been this retreat?”

Another questioner told Brown: “You remind me of Harry Truman.”

It was also a politically educated audience. When Brown misspoke and identified Feinstein’s husband as “Mr. Feinstein” the audience immediately corrected him: “It’s Mr. Blum,” they said.

“Leisure World is a different type of society than the rest of the world,” said Herbert Schwartz, president of the Leisure World Republican Club. “You’ve got a bunch of seniors who are fairly affluent and have time to read. It’s just not a passive audience.”

Schwartz, a retired financial investor, said he has voted Republican since Roosevelt ran for his third term as president. He has lived in California since 1963 and moved from Beverly Hills to Leisure World 12 years ago.

“Before Leisure World, it was just making a living,” said Schwartz, now a member of the county’s Republican Lincoln Club. “When I moved here, (politics) intrigued me and I started getting involved.”

Gray power is an increasingly powerful part of the American electorate, recently forcing Congress to rewrite part of its deficit reduction proposal regarding Medicare funding.

But Leisure World political leaders insist that their voters should not be considered a one-issue bloc. Schwartz said there are funding votes for local schools that would have failed without Leisure World’s support. And the community has been active in growth management issues since the area was becoming a boom town for housing development.

“You find a cross-section of Americana here,” said Marian Miller, past president of the Leisure World Republican Club. “We’re through raising our children and worrying about the financial problems, so that’s not the issue. But we’re more concerned with government because we want good government overall.”

One of the biggest beneficiaries of Leisure World support has been Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach). Ferguson barely lost a special election for state Senate earlier this year, and he attributed a large part of his close finish to Leisure World voters.

“They were about a third of my vote,” he said. “They will work for you. They’ll work telephone banks, they will register voters, they will sit in the shopping centers here. The reputation is justly deserved.”